Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [115]
When he heard the baby’s cry, he decided it was time for action. Breaking into a sprint, the captain soon left Chanik behind, his every step carrying him farther than he was used to. In less than a minute, he spotted a cluster of people, forming a loose circle. Outside the circle was the infant, crying pitifully, naked and unattended.
It turned out that very old was accurate, since the crumbling structures were made from fabricated materials, leading the captain to suspect they were Iconian in nature. He counted four such structures and heaps of rubble that might have meant there had been more at one time. Perhaps related to the City or some independent dwellings. He would speculate on that later.
The general vicinity was devoid of overgrowth, leading Picard to believe the nearby villagers used the area. Paths were clearly marked, heading toward the forest behind him and, ahead, toward the City. The purpose eluded him.
Picard slowed and tried to make out what was being shouted. He couldn’t tell but suspected the baby might have something to do with it.
As he approached, people noticed him coming, and once again he was treated differently because of his unusual appearance. Gradually, the circle broke open and the captain could see a woman, her roughspun clothes in tatters, lying on the ground. Standing over her, yelling epithets without stop, was an older man. He had a gray beard, wore some sort of skull cap, and had his fists raised in anger.
A murmur replaced the shouting as one after another, people began speculating as to the arrival of the strange man. Picard looked among them and saw that each was holding something hard and metallic, fairly uniform among them. This was not spontaneous, he realized, but deliberate. He could feel anger growing in his heart.
“What is going on?” Picard managed to keep his voice neutral, recognizing the need to respect local laws and customs.
“You’re not from around here,” a man said, a little fear in his voice.
“No, I come from a far land. But why is this baby being ignored?” Its cries were the only sound now.
“The baby is a sin,” shouted the graybeard. “What should have been mine is not!” He was holding the largest item of the group, oval in shape at one end, and spiky at the other.
“And you know this how?” Picard figured that by asking questions and talking he could get them to calm down, maybe see reason. If he had to let their brand of justice be carried out, he would.
“I can count! I was not home the eight turns ago when this would have started.”
Picard looked down at the woman, who was quietly sniffling into her one intact sleeve. She seemed absolutely distraught, emotionally caught up in the moment, and seemed oblivious of the conversation going around her.
“And you will do what?”
The man looked at Picard as if he, too, were a newborn. “I brought her here for the testing. She will live or die. If she survives, then her innocence is clear and she can bring the baby home.”
“And if she dies?”
“She deserved it.”
Picard disliked this notion of justice and felt he needed to act. But his respect for the Prime Directive made him proceed cautiously.
“Has she spoken for herself?”
“Haven’t asked!” He adjusted his grip on the item, making certain the pointed end was aimed at the woman. The others similarly played with their items, all of which looked like smaller versions of the weapon. Picard couldn’t begin to imagine what they were holding, but knew it was totally alien to them and dated hundreds of thousands of years before. The woman looked up and whimpered once. No one else said a word.
Picard reacted with instinct, not thought, and rushed the man, knocking into him. The weapon’s weight in his hands forced him to tumble backward to the ground. Now it was Picard who loomed over the man.
“Where’s the justice in using something so sharp? You want the truth? Ask her! If she betrayed you, then let justice be done. But if she has been honest, your “test’ would surely take her away from you and the child. You